Supreme Court Takes Up Recess Appointments

This morning marks the official start of the Supreme Court’s 2013–2014 term. One of the cases the Court will decide is National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning, which involves a clash between the President and the Senate over recess appointments.

At the end of 2011, the Senate exercised its constitutional authority to deny the confirmation of several nominees President Obama made to the National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Fed up with perceived obstruction by Senate Republicans, President Obama made four purported recess appointments on January 4, 2012. The Senate had been conducting pro forma sessions—brief sessions during which no business is typically conducted—every three days.

President Obama’s move drew substantial criticism and sparked a constitutional debate over the Recess Appointments Clause. Until that point, no President had ever made a recess appointment when the Senate was convening in pro forma sessions every three days.

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